3.'T 


1 


CHINA  SOCIETY’S  PAMPHLETS 

SECOND  SERIES 
Number  II 


A Frank  Discussion 

of 

China’s  Present  Problems 


By 

FREDERICK  W.  STEVENS  _ 

Representative  in  Peking 
of  the 

American  Croup  of  the  China  Consortium 
from  1920  to  1923 


Issued  by 

THE  CHINA  SOCIETY  OF  AMERICA  (Inc.) 
19  West  44lh  Street,  New  York  City 
1923 


J\'o  Rights  Reserved 

Rejjuhlication,  Invited 


“If  a man  take  no  thought 
about  what  is  distant,  he 
will  find  sorrow  near.” 

The  Confuciaii  Analects,  xv,  xi. 


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FOREWORD 


This  pamphlet  presents  the  mature  judgment  of 
a financial  and  business  man  who  has  just  re- 
turned from  a mission  of  two  and  a half  years 
ill  China,  where  it  was  his  business  to  study 
conditions  having  reference  to  the  program  of 
the  China  Consortium.  In  its  original  form  it 
was  an  address  delivered  in  New  York  City,  at 
a dinner  given  by  The  Honorable  Charles  R. 
Crane,  formerly  American  Minister  to  China,  to 
a group  of  about  fifty  men  actively  interested  in 
China,  and  especially  in  Peking  Union  University. 

There  may  be  those  who  will  be  inclined  to 
dissent  from  some  of  Mr.  Stevens’  opinions,  but 
no  one  will  question  that  he  speaks  out  of  full 
knowledge. 

Robert  McElroy, 

Managing  Director  of  the  China 
Society  of  America. 


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CHINA’S  PRESENT  PROBLEMS 

Republics  are  governed  by  public  opinion.  This 
need  not,  of  necessity,  control  through  the  ballot, 
but  it  must  control,  or  the  word  republic  is  a 
misnomer.  Public  opinion  is  the  prevailing  sen- 
timent of  the  articulate  portion  of  a given  com- 
munity. It  is  not,  therefore,  of  necessity  the 
opinion  of  the  majority  of  individuals.  Every 
republic  has  passed  through,  if  indeed  it  does  not 
still  remain  in,  the  stage  where  ruling  public 
opinion  represents  not  the  numerical  majority 
but  a numerical  minority.  A true  republic,  one 
which  has  the  really  progressive  tendency,  must 
look  toward  a day  when  the  majority  shall  be 
articulate,  and  therefore  ruling;  but  it  may  fairly 
claim  the  name  republic  long  before  that  day  is 
reached. 

A REPUBLIC  ONLY  IN  NAME 

Since  the  fall  of  the  Manchu  dynasty  in  1911, 
after  a reign  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  and  after  a monarchical  form  of  govern- 
ment lasting  for  thousands  of  years,  a so-called 
republic  was  formed,  and  China  is  today  called 
a republic.  But  the  Chinese  people  were  not  well 
prepared  for  a republican  form  of  government, 
and  few  who  are  adequately  informed  will  deny 
that  China  is  now  a republic  only  in  name.  On 
the  other  hand,  she  is  no  longer  a monarchy,  and 
I believe  she  never  will  be  again.  She  is  ruled, 
in  fact,  by  military  lords.  Her  so-called  Central 
or  Peking  Government  is  impotent  in  more  than 
half  of  the  territory  of  China.  Her  so-called 
parliament,  lately  reconvened  at  Peking,  after 
several  years’  eclipse,  is  not  representative,  is  not 
respected,  is  openly  charged  with  being  governed 
by  selfish  and  corrupt  motives,  and  is  largely 
powerless  for  good. 

Her  representatives  are  unable  to  bring  about 
disbandment  of  her  armies,  constituting  a mill- 
stone about  the  neck  of  each  succeeding  cabinet ; 
and  there  has  been  a new  cabinet  every  few 
months.  The  armies  are  not  national  armies. 
Her  military  lords,  each  independent  of  the  other, 
seize  legitimate  revenue  when  they  can  and  levy 
illicit  revenue,  to  keep  their  armies  together  and 
to  maintain  their  individual  power.  The  civil 
wars  of  China  are  usually  the  result  of  personal 
ambitions,  not  of  national  purposes. 

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The  only  public  revenue  handled  rightly  is 
that  which  is  under  foreign  domination;  and 
such  revenue  is  mortgaged  beyond  its  capacity. 
The  so-called  Central  Government  is  bankrupt ; 
it  has  been  compelled  to  allow  many  millions  of 
foreign  and  domestic  debts  to  go  to  default,  and 
the  wages  of  its  representatives  and  employees 
in  almost  all  branches  are  long  unpaid.  The 
power  of  the  provinces  as  independent  political 
units  is  growing,  and  in  violation  of  treaties  made 
by  the  old  Peking  Government,  these  provinces 
are  levying  taxes  upon  imported  goods,  while  the 
Peking  Go\’ernment  is  powerless  to  stop  these 
violations. 

The  continued  recognition  of  the  Peking  Gov- 
ernment by  the  foreign  Powers,  which  I do  not 
criticise,  is  the  chief  reason  for  its  retaining  the 
semblance  of  power.  The  unification  of  the 
provinces,  the  creation,  in  Peking,  or  elsewhere, 
of  a central  power  recognized  by  all  China,  seem 
a long  way  off.  International  control  by  the 
Powers,  advocated  by  many,  would,  in  my  opinion, 
end  in  a huge  failure,  and  it  will  probably  never 
he  attempted.  China  must  and  will  work  out 
her  own  political  salvation.  And  in  China,  as  in 
every  republic,  real  or  nominal,  the  basis  of  suc- 
cess must  be  an  informed,  enlightened  and  moral 
public  opinion.  It  is  only  righteous  and  aggres- 
sive public  opinion  that  frightens  bad  rulers,  that 
restrains  wicked  officials,  that  produces  a good 
government,  that  secures  even-handed  justice  to 
all. 

CHINA  A PRETTY  SAFE  PLACE 

Against  this  array  of  unhappy  facts,  we  may 
set  the  fact  that  persons  and  property  are  per- 
haps on  the  w’hole  as  safe  from  violent  seizure  in 
China  as  in  our  own  States.  There  are  roving 
bandits  in  some  parts  of  China,  and  foreigners 
are  sometimes  seized  for  ransom,  as  we  know 
by  recent  reports,  but,  when  I read  of  assaults 
and  robberies  in  our  own  States,  I think  China 
a pretty  safe  place.  There  personal  assaults  and 
robberies,  burglaries  and  street  brawls  are  rare. 

A FICTION  UNMASKED 

I promised  myself  recently  to  take  advantage 
of  an  early  opportunity  to  denounce  publicly  a 
story  that  seems  to  have  reached  every  man  and 
woman  in  the  United  States.  I have  scarcely 
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ever  conversed  as  much  as  ten  minutes  with  any- 
one who  has  not  visited  the  Orient,  without  being 
asked,  “Are  the  Japanese  and  Chinese  honest?” 
And  when  I say  “Which  ones?”  I am  always  met 
with  something  like  this : “Well,  I understand 
that  the  Japanese  bankers  cannot  trust  their  own 
people  and  have  to  engage  Chinese  to  run  their 
banks.” 

There  is  no  truth  in  the  story,  and  there  never 
has  been.  The  Japanese  banks  have  rarely,  if 
ever,  had  Chinese  in  their  employ.  The  story 
ought  to  be  widely  denounced  in  this  country, 
for  it  does  an  injustice  to  the  Japanese;  and  the 
Chinese,  who,  as  a people,  are  doubtless  as  honest 
as  any  other  people,  do  not  need  this  false  testi- 
mony as  to  their  integrity.  The  story  probably 
originated  from  the  circumstance  that  when  two 
British  banks,  which  had  long  operated  in  China, 
opened  branches  in  two  cities  of  Japan,  their 
leading  comprador  in  China  installed  Chinese 
employees  in  these  branches. 

THE  QUESTION  OF  POPULATION 

There  has  never  been  a reliable  census  of 
China.  It  has  been  a habit  of  writers  and  speak- 
ers about  China,  during  the  last  forty  years  or 
more,  invariably  to  refer  to  her  400,000,000  people, 
an  unchangeable  figure  despite  the  great  number 
of  births  and  the  mortality  in  China.  Although 
skeptical  about  even  the  approximate  accuracy  of 
the  figure,  I find  it  difficult  to  make  myself  such 
a heretic  as  would  be  involved  in  using  some 
other  figure.  I assume  that  there  are  about 

400.000. 000  people  in  China. 

CHINA  A FARMER  NATION 

According  to  those  well  qualified  to  make  the 
estimate,  about  eighty  per  cent  of  all  the  people 
of  China — which  means,  let  us  say,  upwards  of 

300.000. 000  people — get  their  living  from  labor 
connected  quite  directly  with  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil.  There  is  a very  wide  distribution  of  the 
ownership  of  land.  There  are  said  to  be  in  China 
about  fifty  million  distinct  land  holdings, — owner- 
ships in  fee.  This  fact  is  considered  by  many  as 
insurance  against  Bolshevism,  the  advocates  of 
which  are  said  to  be  distributing  large  quantities 
of  Bolshevistic  literature  in  China.  In  Southern 
China,  a plot  of  ground  approximately  the  size 

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of  an  ordinary  city  residence  lot  here,  is  a “farm,” 
and  its  products  keep  a family  alive.  In  Northern 
China,  the  units  are  often  much  larger. 

THE  POVERTY  OF  CHINA 

“Keep  it  alive,”  is  what  I say,  and  is  all  I 
mean.  It  seems  to  be  true  that  a large  part  of 
these  millions  live  year  after  year  on  the  edge  of 
starvation,  seldom  or  never  having  enough  food 
to  satisfy  hunger,  much  less  to  provide  a reserve 
supply  to  meet  the  contingencies  of  famine,  due 
to  flood  or  drought  or  other  cause,  that  frequently 
arise.  Too  much  is  demanded  of  the  land.  It  is 
a constant  fight,  by  those  who  get  their  food 
from  it,  to  obtain  material  necessary  to  produce 
the  requisite  soil  fertility. 

The  lack  of  demand  for  labor,  to  which  I shall 
refer  later,  forces  resort  to  the  soil  by  more 
people  than  the  soil  can  well  support.  Govern- 
ment provides  little  in  the  way  of  drainage  or 
other  artificial  aids.  The  farming  methods  of 
thousands  of  years  ago  are  generally  followed, 
yet  practically  nothing  in  the  way  of  advice  and 
assistance  as  to  modern  methods  of  farming  is 
furnished  by  any  governmental  agency.  Prac- 
tically all  that  is  done  in  this  direction, — instruc- 
tion in  soil  fertility,  plant  diseases,  seed  selection, 
animal  husbandry,  etc.,— is  by  the  Christian  mis- 
sionary colleges. 

THE  LABOR  PROBLEM 

Another  ten  per  cent,  perhaps  fifteen  per  cent, 
of  the  Chinese  people,  which  means  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  fifty  million  people,  constitute  the 
laboring  class,  other  than  those  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural work.  These  are  the  artizans,  the  factory 
laborers  (there  are  only  a small  number  of  the 
latter),  the  coolies,  servants  and  manual  workers 
of  all  classes.  These  millions  as  a rule  do  not 
own  the  hovels  they  occupy,  and  they  also  live 
on  the  edge  of  starvation.  Their  pitifully  small 
earnings  seldom  allow  them  to  feed  themselves 
well,  to  say  nothing  about  saving  up  anything 
to  meet  the  needs  of  worse  days  than  the  com- 
mon run.  Life  for  them  has  no  luxuries  and 
few  comforts,  and,  in  our  sense  of  that  word, 
none.  “Home”  to  them  means  squalid,  almost 
bare  quarters,  with  little  or  no  heat  in  cold 
weather.  Hot  water  is  a luxury.  Cold  water  is 
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not  carried  to  them  by  pipes,  but  is  bought  in 
small  quantities,  out  of  their  pitifully  small  sup- 
ply of  coppers,  from  the  carts  of  the  water  ven- 
ders; and  to  make  hot  water  requires  fuel,  which 
for  them  is  very  scarce  and  costly,  often  to  a 
prohibitive  extent,  and  always  to  an  extent  which 
limits  its  use  to  the  very  minimum.  Clothing 
from  head  to  foot  is  the  simplest  imaginable  by 
anyone,  and  probably  more  simple  than  can  be 
imagined  by  those  who  have  not  visited  Oriental 
or  tropical  countries.  Those  who  know  only 
poverty  as  it  exists  in  this  country  have  little 
idea  of  poverty  as  it  may  be.  Within  a few 
steps  of  any  place  in  any  city  of  China,  you  can 
be  shown  poverty  of  a depth  quite  beyond  your 
previous  imagination. 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  ILLITERACY 

I have  been  speaking  of  the  two  classes  who 
with  their  families  constitute  a total  of  about 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  Chinese  people,  perhaps 
more.  These  people  are  nearly  all  illiterate.  By 
well  informed  people,  those  who  can  read  and 
write  are  estimated  for  all  China  at  not  more 
than  ten  per  cent  of  all  the  people,  and  often 
at  only  five  per  cent.  It  should  be  remembered, 
however,  that  illiteracy  does  not  of  necessity 
connate  lack  of  intelligence.  The  court  of  the 
Emperor  Charlemagne  was  illiterate,  as  was  the 
Emperor  himself,  but  this  condition  was  due  to 
circumstances,  and  has  never  been  understood  to 
show  a lack  of  intellectual  ability.  The  Chinese 
have  great  ability  in  the  direction  of  learning  what 
is  taught  them. 

It  can  hardly  be  expected,  however,  thal  people 
who  can  neither  read  nor  write  can  have  much 
part,  if  any,  in  the  creation  of  that  righteous 
and  aggressive  public  opinion  that  will  smash 
public  evils.  Indeed  these  illiterates  naturally 
know  little  or  nothing  about  the  political  con- 
ditions and  developments  that  surround  them, 
however  much  they  may  be  unknowingly  inter- 
ested in  them.  Public  opinion  is  the  product  of 
the  articulate  classes,  the  educated  classes. 

NATIVE  BUOYANCY 

Despite  all  the  poverty  existing  among  the  peas- 
ants and  the  laboring  classes  of  China,  the  limited 
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possibility  there  to  find  enjoyment  in  life  accord- 
ing to  our  view,  these  people  as  a rule  are  a 
good-natured  people,  a peaceable  people,  a temper- 
ate people,  a law-abiding  people,  a people  who 
endure  their  lot  with  wonderful  patience  and 
fortitude.  Indeed,  they  know  no  other  life,  these 
sturdy,  industrious  people,  who  are  as  willing  to 
work  long  hours  as  laborers  anywhere  and  who, 
according  to  American  engineers  speaking  from 
large  experience  with  Chinese  laborers  and  with 
laborers  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  make  as 
good  laborers  as  any  people  in  the  world. 

THE  CHINESE  DESERVE  A GOOD 
GOVERNMENT 

Such  a people  deserve  a good  government,  one 
that  will  bring  them  more  of  the  comforts  of 
life;  and  some  day  good  government,  and  more 
comforts,  will  come. 

Despite  the  unhappy  political  conditions,  the 
good  qualities  possessed  by  the  masses  of  the 
Chinese  people,  inspire  hope  among  China’s  for- 
eign friends,  and  create  the  belief  that  a better 
day  is  coming.  I share  in  that  hope  and  that 
belief.  The  responsibility  of  the  educated  classes 
to  see  that  that  day  is  hastened,  is  immense,  but 
is  not,  I fear,  commonly  accepted  by  them.  If  it 
be  possible  to  weld  into  a real  Republic,  a nation 
of  400,000,000  people,  largely  illiterate,  spread 
over  an  area  approximating  that  of  the  United 
States,  speaking  many  dialects  not  commonly  un- 
derstood, and  with  no  history  or  background  to 
fit  them  for  the  republican  form  of  government, 
the  Chinese  will  some  time  accomplish  it,  but 
perhaps  only  when  an  entirely  new  generation 
has  come,  a generation  governed  by  new  princi- 
ples, and  creating  righteous  and  aggressive  pub- 
lic opinion,  overcoming  the  selfishness,  the  cor- 
ruption that  now  governs  so  large  a percentage 
of  the  educated  class  in  China’s  political  affairs. 
The  best  men  in  China,  both  Chinese  and  for- 
eign, look  to  such  public  opinion  for  relief,  partial 
or  complete,  sooner  or  later,  from  the  curses  that 
now  beset  her. 

CHINA’S  THREE  GREAT  CURSES 

There  are  three  great  curses  which  I would 
mention.  One  is  found  in  the  worse  than  use- 


10 


less  armies  of  a million  or  more  men,  which  keep 
China  in  turmoil.  There  is  grave  need  of  a 
public  opinion  strong  enough  to  compel  the  dis- 
bandment of  a large  part  of  them,  and  intelli- 
gent enough  to  devise  an  elfective  method  for 
accomplishing  such  a disbandment,  itself  a difficult 
task. 

Another  is  the  growing  use  of  narcotics  en- 
couraged by  at  least  some  of  the  military  lords 
because  of  the  illicit  revenue  it  provides  them. 
China  has  lost  much  ground  in  recent  years  in 
dealing  with  this  evil. 

The  third  is  the  prevailing  corruption  among 
the  officials,  made  up  altogether  of  the  educated 
classes.  Mention  of  it  cannot  be  avoided  in  a 
statement  of  the  true  situation,  but  I pass  over 
the  harrowing  details.  This  evil  will  never  be 
done  away  with,  except  as  the  result  of  educa- 
tion that  breeds  character,  that  results  in  right- 
eous, aggressive  public  opinion  so  widespread 
that  it  will  break  up  this  deep-seated  evil.  You 
may  say  we  live  in  a glass  house  ourselves,  on 
this  subject;  but,  as  I know  our  history,  we 
have  never  suffered  with  this  evil  as  China 
suffers. 

Of  course,  I need  hardly  say  that  there  have 
been  and  still  are  notable,  honorable  and  high- 
minded  men  in  Chinese  public  office,  men  far 
above  the  practices  I refer  to,  who  deplore  the 
evil. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  CHINA’S  POVERTY 

Why  is  it  that  in  China,  a very  large  part  of 
whose  people  are  ready,  willing  and  anxious  to 
work  and  capable  of  doing  good  work,  there  is 
so  much  poverty? 

It  is  because  there  is  little  demand  for  labor 
in  China.  I often  think  it  a pity  that  the  demand 
for  labor,  particularly  domestic  labor,  which  is 
so  great  in  this  countrj',  and  the  supply  of  such 
labor,  which  is  so  abundant  in  China,  cannot  be 
allowed  to  meet,  to  the  advantage  of  the  people 
of  both  countries.  The  supply  of  labor  is  so 
great  in  all  parts  of  China,  and  the  demand  so 
small,  that  a Chinese  laborer  who  receives  on 
an  average  per  day  an  equivalent  of  ten  cents  in 
our  money,  is  among  the  very  fortunate ; and  with 
that  pittance  he  often  clothes  and  feeds,  to  the 
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limited  extent  I have  mentioned,  several  people, 
old  and  young. 

WHY  IS  THERE  SO  LITTLE  DEMAND  FOR 
LABOR? 

Largely  because  China  lacks  a government  that 
protects  Chinese  in  the  establishment  and  opera- 
tion of  industrial  enterprises, — enterprises  that 
would  produce  an  ever  increasing  demand  for 
Chinese  labor  and  lessen  the  poverty  that  is  so 
general.  Instead  of  governmental  protection  of 
those  who  attempt  to  conduct  manufacturing  and 
other  industrial  enterprises,  there  is,  too  often  if 
not  generally,  official  extortion  practised  upon 
them;  and  consequently  there  is  little  extension 
of  industrial  enterprises  in  China,  outside  the 
limited  areas  which  have  some  measure  of  for- 
eign protection,  such  as  the  so-called  “conces- 
sions” in  Shanghai  and  Tientsin. 

With  the  political  conditions  such  as  I have 
outlined,  it  is  not  remarkable  that  the  pending 
industrial  revolution  progresses  slowly,  so  far  as 
purely  Chinese  enterprises  are  concerned.  But, 
despite  these  conditions,  enterprises  under  proper 
protection  are  making  surprising  headway. 

HOW  CAN  CHINA’S  AMERICAN  FRIENDS 
HELP? 

What  can  the  foreign  friends  of  China,  those 
who  believe  in  the  brotherhood  of  man,  who  be- 
lieve that  a bad  condition  such  as  exists  in  China 
is  harmful  to  the  whole  world, — what  can  they 
do  to  help? 

1.  Open  Opportunities  for  Practical  Business 
Experience  to  the  Chinese  Students 
in  America 

By  the  return  of  the  surplus  from  our  share 
of  the  Boxer  Indemnity,  we  have  brought  to  our 
shores  for  education  thousands  of  the  young  men 
and  young  women  of  China.  We  have  generously 
opened  to  them  all  the  facilities  of  our  institu- 
tions of  learning;  but  this  is  not  enough.  They 
need  in  addition  the  practical  contacts  with  busi- 
ness and  industry  which  alone  can  fit  them  for 
the  tasks  which  await  them.  Given  these  con- 
tacts, they  should  be  ready  to  lead  in  the  diffi- 
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cult  work  of  developing  China’s  great,  natural 
resources — but  without  the  practical  knowledge 
which  only  such  contacts  can  give,  it  is  vain  to 
expect  of  them  the  certain  touch  which  means 
success.  China’s  problems  are  practical  prob- 
lems, and  in  the  presence  among  us  of  over  2,000 
Chinese  students  we  have  an  opportunity  to  serve 
China,  and  at  the  same  time  to  serve  our  own 
interests.  We  should  at  once  take  steps  to  insure 
to  every  Chinese  student  of  serious  purpose  a 
chance  to  learn,  by  practice,  how  practical  men 
meet  practical  problems.  This  can  be  best  ac- 
complished by  taking  them  into  our  industries. 
Our  own  rewards  will  be  practical  rewards;  for 
we  shall  then  have  in  the  expanding  markets  of 
China  men  who  appreciate  the  essential  sound- 
ness of  American  business  and  American  busi- 
ness methods. 

2.  Get  Behind  American  AIissionary 
Educators 

I know  of  no  better  way  for  individuals  to 
help  China  than  by  helping  to  increase  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  arising  generation  of  Chinese  to 
obtain  education  of  the  right  kind — the  kind  that 
takes  into  account  the  moral  side  of  life, — the 
kind  that  breeds  character,  the  kind  that  teaches 
that  citizenship  carries  with  it  public  duties  as 
well  as  personal  advantages,  and  what  those 
duties  are;  the  kind  that  will  produce  a deter- 
mination on  the  part  of  the  educated  classes  to 
see  that  corruption  in  the  government  service 
is  smashed ; that  armies  are  disbanded  and  that 
the  government  is  run  for  the  benefit  of  the 
masses ; the  kind  of  education  that  is  being  of- 
fered in  the  primary  schools,  the  middle  schools, 
the  colleges  and  universities,  carried  on  under 
missionary  auspices,  in  charge  of  as  unselfish  a 
lot  of  people  as  can  be  found  anywhere  In  the 
world.  These  institutions  are  all  to  limited  in 
their  physical  ability  to  reach  the  Chinese  who 
need  their  help,  and  are  eager  to  have  it. 

I have  come  to  believe  that  America’s  greatest 
contribution  to  China,  greater  even  than  Amer- 
ica’s political  friendship,  is  the  work  of  the 
American  Christian  missionaries  in  China.  This 
statement  may  indicate  the  importance  I attach 
to  the  need  of  moral  regeneration  which  must 
13 


precede  any  great  political  and  industrial  im- 
provement. In  all  China  there  is  not  a single 
organization,  on  a scale  of  importance,  that  aims 
at  moral  improvement,  or  that  is  calculated  to 
bring  it  about,  that  is  not  traceable  In  its  origin 
to  the  Christian  missions.  I have  inquired  among 
all  kinds  of  people  from  all  parts  of  China  for 
such  an  activity  of  non-Christian  origin,  without 
finding  one. 

One  who  engages  in  an  effort  to  learn  what 
is  the  matter  with  China,  and  what  is  the  remedy, 
whatever  may  have  been  his  former  attitude 
toward  religion,  cannot  fail  to  become  interested 
in  religion  as  a factor  in  China.  The  Chinese 
are  a non-religious,  not  an  anti-religious,  people. 
Neither  Buddhism  nor  Confucianism  nor  any 
other  of  the  Oriental  religions  is  any  longer  a 
motive  force  in  China.  A distinguished  scholar, 
who  spent  a long  period  in  China,  has  recently 
declared : 

“Instead  of  carping  at  missionaries,  we  should 
remember  that  they  have  been  almost  the  only 
ones  in  the  past  with  a motive  force  strong 
enough  to  lead  them  to  take  an  active  interest 
in  Chinese  education.” 

I regard  the  Christian  universities,  colleges, 
academies,  middle  schools  and  primaries,  with 
their  nearly  250,000  Chinese  students,  as  most 
potent  factors  in  fitting  China  for  taking  her 
proper  place  in  the  world  drama. 

At  one  of  the  leading  play  houses  in  New  York 
City,  in  a play  that  has  had  a long  run  to 
crowded  houses,  there  is  a character  supposed  to 
represent  a Christian  missionary  in  one  of  the 
South  Seas,  and  I suppose  it  is  accepted  by  many 
who  see  the  play  as  representing  the  missionary 
type.  By  chance,  I saw  the  play  a few  nights 
ago.  According  to  my  knowledge  of  mission- 
aries in  China  and  Japan  (and  I have  seen  much 
of  them,  and  learned  much  of  their  methods 
and  their  work),  the  portrayal  in  this  play  is  a 
scandalously  false  one.  I believe  that  with  the 
most  diligent  search,  extending  over  any  length 
of  time,  carried  on  by  those  most  eager  to  find 
justification  for  the  portrayal,  no  such  character 
w'ould  be  found  in  all  China,  nor  in  Japan,  nor 
in  the  South  Seas. 


14 


The  men  and  women  engaged  in  Christian 
missionary  work  in  China  and  Japan  are  well 
educated,  mostly  college  graduates,  well-bred, 
high-minded,  very  sensible  and  practical-minded 
people,  as  I believe  any  fair-minded  man,  reli- 
gious or  otherwise,  with  knowledge  of  the  mis- 
sionaries and  of  their  methods  and  work,  will 
say.  They  are  doing  a work  of  far-reaching  and 
vital  importance,  and  with  an  unselfish  devotion 
far  above  praise.  Sometimes  I wonder  if  there 
may  not  some  time  travel  up  and  down  this  great 
land  a Chinese  John  Wesley,  or  better  still  a 
hundred  of  them,  arousing  to  a high  pitch  the 
moral  sense  of  the  people,  as  John  Wesley 
aroused  the  English  people  long  ago. 

If  China’s  educated  men  as  a class  have  not 
the  inclination  and  the  courage  to  stand  for  the 
right,  there  is  not  much  hope  for  her;  if,  because 
of  fear  of  personal  harm  or  personal  disadvan- 
tage or  because  their  moral  sense  is  weak,  they 
withhold  support  from  men  who  are  trying  to 
do  China  good  service,  and  with  creditable  suc- 
cess, then  the  worst  has  not  yet  come  to  China. 
And  if  the  people  of  the  United  States  do  not 
realize  the  immense  value  of  the  work  which 
their  missionary  educators  are  doing  in  China, 
they  should  be  made  to  realize  it ; for  China’s 
problems  are,  to  a large  extent,  the  problems  of 
the  world  in  general,  and  of  the  United  States 
in  particular. 

For  two  and  a half  years,  I have  watched  in 
China  for  signs  of  hope,  signs  of  the  coming  of 
that  all-important  righteous,  aggressive  public 
opinion  upon  which  depends  China’s  future,  and 
the  future  of  liberal  government  in  Asia,  for 
China  is  the  test  case.  I have  been  often  dis- 
couraged, disappointed ; but  I have  never  lost 
hope.  I believe  in  the  future  of  the  Chinese 
people  because  1 know  what  they  are;  and,  despite 
their  errors  and  their  inevitable  failures,  I desire 
to  help  them,  and  to  see  my  country  help  them. 
Therefore,  I face  the  facts,  the  evil  with  the 
good,  and  desire  my  fellow-countrymen  to  know 
both.  If  they  are  enabled  to  understand  China 
as  she  is,  they  will  then  be  the  better  able  to 
help  her  to  become  what  she  should  be,  politically, 
economically  and  spiritually  a great  republic. 


15 


THE  CHINA  SOCIETY  OE  AMERICA 
(Inc.) 

19  West  44th  Sertet 
New  York  City 

An  organization  supported  entirely  by  member- 
ship fees  and  personal  contributions. 

Its  aim  is  the  promotion  of  friendship,  peace 
and  commercial  intercourse  between  China  and 
the  United  States  of  America. 

W.  Cameron  Forbes Honorary  President 

James  G.  Harbord President 

Edward  C.  Delafield Treasurer 

Robert  McElroy' Managing  Director 


CHINA  SOCIETY  PAMPHLETS 
First  Series 


I.  Aims  and  Organization. 

H.  The  American  Constitution  and  the  Chi- 
nese Republic.  By  Robert  McElroy. 

HI.  Contemporary  Chinese  Leaders  ; Brief 
Sketches.  By  Merle  R.  Walker. 

Etc.,  Etc. 


Second  Series. 

1.  Salient  Facts  Regarding  China’s  Trade. 
By  Julean  Arnold. 


16 


